At the time of this letter, Dawson was serving as a captain of the 4th Alabama Infantry regiment, and Pettus was serving as a lieutenant colonel of the 20th Alabama Infantry regiment (which he helped form).

Lowery was a second lieutenant in Co. D, 20th Alabama Infantry Regiment and was from Bibb County, Alabama. In the diaries he discusses camp life (including supplies, weather, social life, visiting family members, and the troops); the movement into...